Also known as The Cauldron, The Vessel, Holding.
The character 鼎 is a picture of a ritual bronze cauldron on legs. In ancient China the ding held offerings to ancestors and stood for a dynasty's right to rule. Hexagram 50 is about what nourishes people at the deepest level: food, culture, values, and the steady hands that keep them going.
The figure
Fire over Wind. Wind here is wood: wood feeding a fire under a cooking vessel. The six lines even look like a pot: legs at the bottom, a belly, ears and a carrying ring at the top. It is the reverse of hexagram 49.
The judgment
It goes well from the start, and it goes through.
A rare, entirely positive Judgment. When what you hold is offered well and shared, things go right.
The image
Fire over wood and the pot standing on its legs. Get your position right and hold on to what you were given.
A pot has to stand level to cook. Put your own life in order so you can carry what you've been given.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The pot is turned upside down to empty out old food. Clearing out first is no mistake, even if things start in an unlikely place.
- Line 2. The pot is full. Others are envious but can't touch you. It goes well.
- Line 3. The pot's handles have changed, so it can't be lifted, and the good food goes uneaten. When the rain comes, regret ends, and it goes well at last.
- Line 4. The legs break and the meal for the guest spills over everything. Taking on more than you can carry ends badly.
- Line 5. The cauldron's handles are yellow and its carrying rings are gold. Openness and modesty in a high position. Hold steady.
- Line 6, at the top. The pot has rings of jade. Firm and gentle together. This goes very well; everything goes well.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 50 is about what you hold and offer: work, skill, values, care for others. Keep it in good order, don't overload it and share it well. Something worth nourishing is in your hands.